Sunday, September 30, 2012

I had a quiet weekend. Not much to report (so I may have over-sold the post title)
I continued to feel terrible all Friday. I think it might have been a BP issue. (Make a note to get that checked) Early to bed and a good nights sleep and I felt much better Saturday morning. I admit, it scared me a little so I did continue to take it easy Saturday.

I spent a couple of hours downtown in the morning, having a coffee chat with Steph at Flow Boutique and delivering a bag of wool snippets to another friend who makes lint dryer balls with them. I hooked a little bit on a small project. Friday a big bag of Heavens to Betsy wool was delivered. You know I must have been sick because I didn't even open it until Saturday.

I'm working on the little freebie pattern from the fall Rug Hooking Magazine.

We had a visitor this afternoon. My cousin's son from Vancouver is travelling and stopped in. Every single Sunday we have a big supper. Naturally today was the one Sunday all year I decided I didn't want to cook. We were just going to "graze" all day. Well, that flew out the window when Kyle arrived. So, like any quick thinking cook, I ordered Chinese take-out. Lol He left a short time ago to visit with some other family. It was a nice little visit as we haven't seem him since he was 13. But I do feel a little guilty that I cheated on supper. Oh well, he didn't seem to mind :)

The last few hours of the weekend are zooming by, as is the month of September. I really hope October slows down a little so I can enjoy what's left of Fall.

Friday, September 28, 2012

My day off didn't go exactly as planned but I did power through to try and make the most of it. I woke up not feeling the best. It's hard to explain, just foggy headed and disconnected. Not quite dizzy but close. My Grandmother used describe this phenomenon as "a queer head". I laughed as I thought of that today, and now I know what she meant.

I did go to Moncton but only made a few stops. I really didn't feel alert enough to be in too much traffic. I bought myself 2 new Fall outfits. One power suit will be great to wear on Election Day while I'm stomping around being the Big Boss Woman. Lol

And of course - new boots. Kick-Ass boots to be precise! I think you appear far more fearsome if your footwear makes noise. Strutting across the room in loafers isn't very intimidating but clicking your heels across the floor says "Look out, here she comes". Which is exactly the effect I'm going for ;)

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Things were a little chaotic at bedtime last night and I forgot to set my alarm. I woke up at 8:15am.........I'm supposed to be at work at 8:30am. GASP --- I flew out of bed and raced around like a lunatic. I got to work at 8:31..... One minute late!

Arrgh, that is never a good start. You feel like you're trying to catch up all day. Luckily, in a nice balancing kind of way, my work day was better than yesterday.

In another post I mentioned we are soon moving to another office building. We are renovating a beautiful stone historic building in the downtown for a new town hall. It's almost ready. Today the final floor plan was revealed for who was getting which office. I'm a happy girl! Top floor, corner office, big window overlooking the Main Street. Yeah, for me.

Tonight I drew up a new little pattern and hooked a little bit. But have to put aside for now. It's the season premieres of Big Bang Theory and Greys Anatomy!

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Over-committed is more like it. Or maybe "should be committed?" LOL I'm a little stressed.

My work committments with the Election has doubled. I hate to admit it, but I am feeling like I've bitten off more than I can chew. I hate days where I just go go go and get nothing done.

Today I was involved in a group of interviews to fill a vacant position in the organization. Yes, its important, but it is also a complete waste of a day. I got nothing accomplished which got me further behind. Plus there were 2 emergencies which pulled me out of 2 of the interviews mid stream.

I also had a personal committment at lunch time, and of course I was wearing a pair of seriously pointy toe heels. Why is this important, you might ask? Well, because I didn't get home for a break at lunch time, my little summer flip flop accustomed wearing feet were mushed into cute, but painful shoes ALL DAY. By 3pm I was walking on numb stubs at the end of my legs. Lol

Then there is that panicked call from home. Yes, I forgot to re-order Mom's presciptions (which she must take regularly) and there are zero pills left in the bottle. None for her 5pm dose. Call the pharmacy and the prescription became out-dated last week. By now it is 4:30 and I am frantic with the pharmacist. Since she knew what the medication was for, she knew we needed it. So it was refilled for a few days until I can contact the doctor and get a new prescription. Whew!

If I can just make it through tomorrow without the nice men in the white coats coming for me, I might be OK. I am taking Friday off.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

I feel more boring than usual this weekend. The truth is I tried to hook as much as I could to finish the Tumbling Pumpkins rug so I could get it listed. I have a short window of opportunity left to try and sell it this year.

And I finished it! Very fun pattern to hook. But all of Maria Barton's patterns are fun.

It's currently in my Etsy shop. And if it doesn't sell right away I can use it in the Downtown Fibre Arts Walk for our October Fiber Arts Festival. So it's win-win either way. (But selling it would be better)

Now I'm watching the Emmy's. Kind of boring, nothing scandalous has happened so far. Tomorrow night I have to work. It's our last Council meeting in our current Town Hall. We are moving soon. More on that soon, but it is exciting!

Are you still here? I warned you I've been boring this week :) I even resorted to cleaning out the freezer this afternoon. You wouldn't believe the crap I found at the bottom. I should have taken a picture of this but was too embarrassed. But here it is.....I found a package of pork chops dated......2007. Oh my gawd!!

Tomorrow night Dancing With The Stars starts again. Woohoo. My one reality show addiction!Have a great week.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

It has been awhile since I participated in Joyce's Wednesday Hodgepodge linky. I thought the questions were fun this week so here I am.

1. What's the best and worst thing about growing older?

The best thing is getting wiser (hopefully) and having more experiences (good and bad) to help you navigate this crazy world we live in. The worst is getting slower, creakier, wrinklier etc. 2. Autumn arrives in the Northern Hemisphere this week...what one thing do you love most about the fall season?

One thing?? It is my favorite season so I can't limit to one. The colors, the cooler weather, the cozy clothes, the comfort foods....

3. Speaking of fall...pumpkin seems to be flavoring everything these days-are you a fan? What's your favorite pumpkin flavored food or beverage?

I would have to keep it basic and say plain old fashioned pumpkin pie. It is a favorite. I found a receipe last year that added a little Jack Daniels. Might have to try that this year.

4. Since we're on the subject of fall...what's the worst fall you've ever taken?Many years ago, almost at the end of my college years, a bunch of friends went horseback riding. Naturally I got the lunatic horse and got thrown. Wouldn't have been so bad, but I landed on a big rock. I had numbness in my right hip for over 6 months after. (It was my last riding experience)

5. If you could own a prop from any film what would you choose?

That's a tough one. My favorite movie is Its a Wonderful Life, so maybe the little bell on the Christmas tree that rings after Clarence gets his wings.

6. What's the most interesting word you've read or heard in the past week?

Shemozzle. Its a word that has popped up at the office a lot lately ;)7. When was the last time you locked yourself out of your house, car, or office? Was it a big deal?

Years ago I locked myself out of the cottage. I was late for an event and all the keys were inside. I had to get the neighbors son to boost me way up and into the small kitchen window. I was wearing a VERY unfortunate outfit for that kind of maneover. Lets just say - not my best moment and not a pretty angle for him..... I still blush thinking about itDon't forget to visit Joyce at the blog From This Side of the Pond to check out the other participants.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Today I am joining up with Patrice (and Wendell) for the weekly Chats on the Farmhouse Porch hosted at Everyday Ruralty.

Before we get to the questions just a little update on the latest rug hooking project. Remember I mentioned I was probably not going to have enough orange wool to finish the big pumpkin? Well, the more I looked at it next to the green plaid pumpkin, the more I didn't like Mr. Orange. It was just "too" orange if you know what I mean.

So last night when I got home from work I ripped it all out and am starting over. I will show you in a few days. I much prefer my 2nd choice in wool. As much as I hate re-hooking something I have already done, it is a great pattern and I don't want to ruin it with a bad color choice.

Anyway, on to the questions:

QUESTIONS

Do you prefer to wash dishes by machine or by hand? If you tell me you don't wash dishes, I will cry, but secretly want to be like you when I grow up!

Believe it or not, I prefer to hand wash the dishes. For some reason I find it kind of therapeutic and soothing. For years we had a dishwasher and used it a handful of times (literally). After awhile I used it to store boxes of tea and napkins :)

2. Who has been the biggest inspiration to you?

My Mom, for countless reasons. She has had many struggles, even before the Alzheimers but always showed me a person who was stronger than she looked.

3. Have you been to any fall festivals or local fairs? Will you be going to any?

Every year I say I am going to the big corn maze in a nearby community. Maybe this will be the year.

4. Bath or shower?

BATH, a long relaxing soak in the tub. Somedays its the only quiet time I get.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

I started another Fall rug. It's The Star Rug Company pattern "Tumbling Pumpkins". I've wanted to hook this for awhile and recently saw it laying in a pile of patterns that Alice (A Day in the Life blog) was packing to take to a show. A quick email and she sent it to me instead! Yay

I started the bottom pumpkin and soon realized I may not have enough orange wool. I contemplated keeping going and crossing my fingers. But having learned this lesson the hard way, I saved this piece to use for matching.

I moved on to pumpkin #2. I'm still undecided how to hook his mouth. So for now I'm leaving it until I get a flash of inspiration.

This is such a fun pattern. I have to work tomorrow night so pumpkin 3 will have to wait.

Saturday, September 15, 2012

I was sitting here this afternoon, hooking on a new rug when my iPhone made a funny noise I hadn't heard before. It went "cha-ching" like an old cash register. It was an Etsy sale notification!!

Yes, Sassy Sunflower pillow will be shipped to a new home on Monday. It was one of my favorites so I'm going to miss it. But not for long! Lol. All that new wool will make me happy ;)

I listed the pumpkin and crow rug today. You can check it out on my sidebar. I'd love to hear that sound effect again. Hehe

We had a bit of lightening tonight and the cable just went out. Fingers crossed its just the cable and the electricity stays on. Other than that little blip it was a nice quiet day. It's a shame weekends aren't 5 days long, like work weeks are :)

Friday, September 14, 2012

I thought I would start out on the positive. Recently I won a Fall giveaway from Primitive Stars blog. My goodies arrived this week. Actually it arrived a few days ago while Mom's home care worker was here. She safely tucked it away......and forgot to tell me when I got home.

I got a phone call from a very upset lady today, apologizing. I just laughed and then found it in the closet. I guess Mom was a handful that day!

It was worth the delay. There is a sweet prim pillow, harvest sign, and a fun candy corn cup and corn S & P shakers. Thank you Francine. It was a nice surprise today. (And I needed one)

Now for the baddies. Where to start? Well, Auntie stubbed her toe today. She "thinks" she broke her baby toe. (FYI - its not swollen or discolored - just sayin) You would think she was dying! LOL Or at least suffered a full on amputation. I think it is just an excuse for me to do all the errands tomorrow - Just sayin :)

Then there was the work day. All day I felt like live bait in a shark tank

Just paddling my little heart out to stay ahead of the sharks teeth nipping at my butt. Lol It is probably my own fault. I fell victim to my own delusions that today was a quiet day. No scheduled appointments etc, I was looking forward to a quiet day to catch up. HAHAHA What is wrong with me? I jinxed it.

I felt like Al Pacino from that movie (scarface??) "You want a piece of me??" TGIF now!!

Oh, by the way - Thanks for all the nice comments on my latest couple of projects. I really appreciate it!

Thursday, September 13, 2012

I've been busier than a one-armed paper hanger this week. The municipal election is ramping up, so lots of overtime for me. By the time I get home from work and get things sorted out here I am mentally and physically worn out. So I am a bit behind on my blog reading and commenting, but I will catch up soon. I've been working on the border of my rug. It seems to relax me in the evening. I took this picture last night as I was less than halfway around

But a little mindless hooking and before I knew it tonight, I was finished. I will take a better pic tomorrow after I bind the edges. But thought I'd show you now anyway.

I don't know about you, but I'll be happy to wake up to Friday tomorrow :)

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Ahhhh, I got through the day. I now have my slate of candidates for the municipal election next month. But this time it's a little different than other times. My other 4 previous elections I have had 18 to 23 candidates for council. The past 2 weeks were quiet. Frankly, it scared me. That feeling stuck with me all day. I feared there would be a number of surprises arriving at the last minute. I'm not a huge fan of surprises ;)

At the deadline I had 2 candidates for Mayor, and 9 candidates competing for 6 council seats. Nine......I can control nine!!

I'm not sure why there has been such a significant drop in numbers, but personally I'm not complaining. I came home, drowned a few olives in Grey Goose and began to hook the border on my rug.

Monday, September 10, 2012

Aside from my regular day job, every four years I get some extra responsibilities. This is an election year for our Mayor and Council and I am the Chief Electoral Officer for our municipality.

Don't fool yourself into thinking that sounds impressive - Its a ton of extra work. And a ton of stress. You see, as dirty as national politics has become, local municipal politics is no different.

I like to refer to the next few weeks as "Silly Season". Tomorrow is the deadline for the filing of candidates nominations. After 5pm I will know the full slate of candidates. Or as I sometimes refer to it - the list of people who will attempt to drive me insane.

They will test the boundaries like a small child. They will test my patience and ability to not lose my cool. I believe that the job of Chief Electoral Officer is something like child birth. When you are in the middle of it, you swear you will NEVER do it again. But then as four years pass you seem to forget and agree to do it again. But as soon as nominations close tomorrow, it will be like that first contraction and all the bad memories will come flooding back! Lol

Wish me luck. And now you will understand if there are a few odd rant posts in the next few weeks.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

I took advantage of a quiet weekend. Things are going to get busy fast, but more on that in another post. So for now you just get some random.

I have a critter making Swiss cheese out of my already sad back lawn. It's not enough that the dry summer left me with a brown, dead lawn but now.....

Yesterday there were about 20 holes and this morning there are more! Not impressed. The only time I want to see turf torn up like this is on a fairway when I've made a nice divot. I have yet to see the offending critter but he must do his tricks at night.

On another animal note, Millie is sick today. We've been outside 3 times already and 2 dog blankets are in the washer. Mom seems a bit out of sorts too. Ugh

Hooking news - I'm tweaking this little rug as I go. In fact, I'm not happy with the pumpkin at all and may re-hook it later.

I have a feeling it might be one of those days when you regret getting out of bed. Kim :)

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Today we must have experienced the remnants of some hurricane or tropical storm passing by. I think we got an entire summers worth of rain all in one day. I arrived home from work cold and damp, feeling Fall.

Not being in the mood to finish my pillow, I dug through my remnant pile and found a small piece of leftover linen. I grabbed the sharpie and started sketching. Feeling fallish, I drew out a small rug with a pumpkin and a crow. I know, not very original but that is what ended up on the linen. It needs some tweaking before I show you.

Now to continue searching for a piece of orangish wool. However, if I can't find it, there's no rule that says a pumpkin has to be orange.....right?

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

First, please forgive the length of this post but I encourage you to read it all the way through.Last week I allowed emotion to get the best of me in defense of a blog friend.They had been hurt by a comment that in my opinion was unnecessarily rude.However, in my haste to defend, it appears I committed the same sin.I was raised by good people and taught respect for others, including the lesson that if you don’t have anything nice to say, you shouldn’t say anything.So I apologize for forgetting that very important lesson.

There are countless artists and craftspeople producing under a multitude of mediums.Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.While I may not find every art form appealing to me personally, I always appreciate the care and work that goes into the production of them. And I think it is fair to say that for the most part, we all leave a little piece of ourselves in our work.I suppose that is why criticism, outside of a juried panel, hurts so much.

I make every attempt to try and live a good life with the inevitable twists and turns that come our way.I would never intentionally be mean or cruel.

In order for a full understanding of this post, I am including the email that prompted my apology. Also, I am disabling comments from this post. I would hope that this will be the end of this issue.

Here is the email I received.(Note:I have only edited out 2 names to avoid further hurtful comments)

*****greetings...last week you made a comment on a blog...those that can't do...criticize.

well...should you have the courage to take a peek, you will find that you are

Monday, September 3, 2012

Happy Labor Day to everyone. Another gorgeous day with that fresh Fall feel in the air. I'm starting to think of boots and sweaters :)

I'll be catching up with your long weekend activities soon but first I want to show you how I spent much of my day. I really wanted to finish hooking Sassy Sunflower. I hooked all afternoon, stopping only to cut more wool.

I am still looking for the right wool for the pillow backing. I am pleased with the way it turned out so far.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

It has been a lovely day. Auntie was urged to take a day off. We shoo'ed her out to the beach with some cousins. That meant I had a day alone with my 2 favorite girls - Mom and Miss Millie. Despite urgings for all of us to go, I believe my response was something like "I'd rather poke myself repeatedly with a sharp stick". :) We all needed a break.

Now don't get me wrong, I love Auntie to bits and I would never have been able to keep Mom cared for at home this long without her.......But that woman could make a glass of water complicated! When she left to go to the beach the stress level in the house dropped to zero. Just sayin'

She's home now and it appears we all had a great day. And I got a great start on the Sassy Sunflower pattern. (Red House Wool Studio)

This photo was taken mid afternoon. I've hooked more since then. When you love a project it seems to hook up more quickly.

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Oh how happy I am to see September. It's the start of all things Fall, all things good. I woke this morning to a fresh cool breeze blowing through my bedroom window. Ahhh! The hot, humid August weather is officially behind us.

I closed off August yesterday with a ME day. I got up and out of the house before anybody was awake and threatened to attempt to schedule my day. I drove to Moncton and visited that little stitching store, Because You Count. Don't you love the name! I spent an hour there and could have stayed longer. The ladies there are funny and helpful.Here is some of what I left with

Also some cloth and a few patterns. That should keep me busy.

Then I enjoyed a nice quiet lunch. I enjoy eating alone. I wouldn't want to have to do it all the time, but when I get a chance, I savor it. I have friends who would rather eat take out in their cars than sit alone in a restaurant.

When I got back to town I stopped at Deanne's studio and had a chat with Brenda. I picked up a few skeins of sari ribbon for my next project.

I was lucky to get out with just 2 skeins! Brenda's voracious sales pitch was quite amusing. She was convinced I should have every color! Nice try girl!

I just finished transferring this pattern to burlap. Now to sort through the wool piles and start cutting.